


Smile

by roseforthethorns



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, I'm so sorry, M/M, Skyfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:44:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8420062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseforthethorns/pseuds/roseforthethorns
Summary: His favorite memory of Q





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to timetospy for Betaing the work and helping me elaborate when I was skimping on details. 
> 
> This was inspired by a picture of Ben Whishaw I saw yesterday.

It’s his favorite memory of Q, the day they spent wandering through the forests on the old Skyfall Property. James didn't want to be there, but the estate agent had insisted. There was a clause in the deed, something about visiting the land, making sure he wanted the sale to go through. He'd known about it for months, and as the window of opportunity narrowed, he finally mentioned it to Q. Much to his surprise, his lover offered to go with him.

James drove, any excuse to fly down the road in his Aston Martin with Q curled up in the passenger seat. They stayed overnight in a little Scottish bed and breakfast and arrived at Skyfall the next morning, the last day the property was still his. He barely spared a glance for the charred rubble that used to be his childhood home, leading the way instead across the moor and towards the woods. Crossing the familiar terrain with Q by his side… he hardly dared to think it, but he was almost content.

To his credit, Q did not try to say anything about the house or ask about James's past. He stayed quiet and just walked through the woods. When the sun reached its peak and the day became warm enough to take off their jackets, they found a nice clearing to just lay down and stare at the sky, but when James snuck a look at Q, the boffin was watching him.

Q was barely smiling, more hinting at a smile as he studied James. It was as enigmatic as he got. So mysterious and clever and sexy all at once. His eyes were bright, shining, clear and vibrant enough to be stars in their own right. James could lose himself for hours on end in those eyes. He reached for Q’s hand, squeezed it. Q smiled a little more.

That smile… that smile shattered and rearranged his whole world. It spoke to all the secrets Q knew about him and how much he trusted James. They shared silence the entire day, and it surprised James. He knew Q could be quiet; the boffin often had moments of pensive silence in Q-branch when no one was around, but there, that day, he didn't try to talk to fix things or ask about James's past. There was something so simple in that act of _being_ that the agent’s heart melted. His lines softened, his hard exterior fell away. With Q, he could be the person he might have been without the years of alcoholism and betrayal. He smiled back. They kissed.

***

Now James kneels in front of a simple marble headstone, staring at the carved letters that may as well mean nothing. They could be ancient Sumerian for all he cares. Those eyes will never smirk at him again, that voice never reprimand or praise him, those lips never kiss him. That man will never undo him again.

 _Q_  
_1981-2016_  
_Brilliant man_  
_You will be missed._

All that work destroyed in an instant. His armor is firmly back in place and his face an unreadable mask. Q would have known what it meant, but to an outsider he just looks sad. James can feel the sharp edges returning, and despite his best efforts, he doesn't really want to be without them. It's worse than when Vesper died. He can't just turn around and hate this man. Q hadn't betrayed him like she had done.

He lays his hand on top of the stone and just rests it there as he lays his flowers in front: tulips, a splash of color in the monochromatic space.

“Not long now, Q,” he murmurs. “You won't be alone on this plot for much longer. I'll see you again very soon.”


End file.
